Grüne on digital affairs

The Greens want to move the state administration to open-source software and expand digital participation. Digital services should exclude no one, and decisions should be explained in plain terms.

The Greens want state offices to use free, open software. No big company owns this kind of software. The state should depend less on US companies. Digital services should work for everyone. Offices should explain their decisions in clear language.

Licensed software would only be used where no equivalent open alternative exists, drawing on the experience of Schleswig-Holstein. IT strategies should rely more on regional and European providers. The official gazettes of the state would be available online free of charge from the day of publication. Digital services should be accessible and multilingual, with offline options remaining on equal footing. Agencies would be required to document decisions so that people without administrative experience can follow them. Civil servants would be allowed to work voluntarily beyond the retirement age.

The Greens want nearly all administrative services to be available fully online, accessible and user-friendly by 2030. Municipalities would receive a flat-rate digitalization grant and use a shared citizens' portal.

The Greens want people to do almost everything with public offices online. This should work by 2030. People should only have to give their data once. Municipalities get money for staff and digital projects.

The flat-rate grant is meant to let municipalities build up staff and expertise for digital projects, and model schemes such as "Digitale Dörfer" (digital villages) are to be expanded. The once-only principle applies, meaning data has to be submitted just one time. A central portal would bring together municipalities, counties and the state and implement the Online Access Act; applications would be digital by default, backed by an open-source strategy. The Greens also want to support municipalities' European networking: EU contact points in county seats, a rebuilt EU service agency, exchange programs for staff, and a review of a municipal representation in Brussels.